So that's it? Council has everything else figured out and this is all that's left?
I'm saying that with sarcasm, not unlike being pulled over by the police for speeding and saying "no murders to solve today, huh?", but there is a hint of truth to what I'm saying.
Council's sole job is to represent the people of Edmonton and to make municipal decisions on their behalf.
Keeping that in mind, if you polled 100 people and asked them "so what do you think of our flag?" not 1 would say "well I think it's ugly and damnit if I haven't been emailing and writing my counsellor every week about it". Not a single person would say they give 2 shits about it.
Yellowhead turning into a freeway? That's a big deal. Finding housing for homeless displaced by Rogers Place? That's a big deal.
A flag? If you showed me 100 flags and said "one of them is Edmonton's, and I'll give you a million dollars if you find it", I would not be a rich man.
Some people say "well other cities proudly display their flags" and I say "yes, in America. Children born in the US aren't wrapped in towels - they're wrapped in their flag". In Canada we can't be bothered to fly our national flag, and you expect us to give a damn about our city flag??
Driving into the city and seeing the 'Welcome to the City of Edmonton' sign matters. That's the first thing people see when they drive into Edmonton. I would argue that sign better represents us than our flag. And that's not much of an argument. Look up "City of Champions" and "removal from sign" and you'll see what an uproar that was.
My point? This is a waste of time, and a waste of taxpayer dollars. And I get that taxpayer dollars have (and are) wasted for less. My point is, they shouldn't be wasted on this. No one gives a flying fuck about our flag.
I haven't once in my life thought about what our flag says to the rest of the world. Or worried that it doesn't represent me. Or that I'm not proud of it. It's a flag.
And now I've typed that word out so many times that it doesn't mean anything, which is apt, since what that word represents doesn't mean anything either.